Standing next to You

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As promised, I wanted to make a little series talking about my favorite bts lyrics that resonate with the queer experience. bangtan have written about all kinds of love in their songs and many of us have found comfort in them, so I think it's a great way to celebrate pride and festa!!

Today's song is Serendipity.

First, I want to start with a little context. A lot of armys now weren't around for the LY era, but if you were, you'll agree with me when I say that there was a notable and intentional shift in the use of gender/gendered pronouns in their lyrics. This was something that Namjoon discussed a few times throughout interviews at the time.

When speaking about Serendipity, he said this:

In this same interview, he describes the theme of Serendipity as "rare things you find in life, something very special, like the calico, three-striped cat; things that have extraordinary meanings in people’s lives."

The love described in the song is very rare, out of the ordinary, but precious and real all the same.

When asked "Why is love such an important message of this era?" Namjoon replied:

Love, not just between a man or a woman, or genders; the love for others- and, of course, the most important thing is loving yourself-so, I think love is the key for reconciliation and integration of all society." (12:20)

This era was all about the universality of love. Love as an all-encompassing feeling. The choice to make Serendipity gender-neutral was intentional and inclusive of all kinds of love. There is more from this era that shows BTS' support for the LGBTQ+ community ('there is nothing wrong, everyone is equal'), but for the sake of this post, I'll leave it with the purely album-related statements.

My translation of Serendipity:

(please note that there is not one right way to translate this song, and there are many translations out there that differ from one another but can also be quite similar! all is ok!)

None of this is a coincidence I just- I just have a feeling The entire world is different from yesterday simply beccause- simply because of your joy When you called me I became your flower* As if we had been waiting We painfully bloom Perhaps it is the providence of the Universe It simply had to be this way You know I know You are me I am you As much as my heart flutters, I'm scared Because fate keeps getting jealous of us I'm just as scared as you are When you see me, when you touch me The universe has moved for us Nothing was even slightly out of place Our happiness was meant to be 'Cause you love me and I love you You are my penicillin the one that saved me** You are my angel, my world I am your calico cat that came to meet you love me now, touch me now Just let me love you (let me love, let me love you) x2 From the moment that the universe was first created everything was decided just let me love you Now please come be by my side Let's become an 'us' I don't wanna let go We can just leave it [up to fate] We feel it even without saying anything The stars are alight We are flying It's not a dream at all Don't be scared and hold my hand We are now becoming an 'us' Let me love you

*내가 그의 이름을 불러 주었을 때 / 그는 나에게로 와서 / 꽃이 되었다. From The Flower by Kim Chun-Soo, when I called her name, she came to me and became a flower.

** original lyric: 날 구원해 준. "구원" means salvation, redemption. It has a religious undertone. Religious salvation in queer art is a heavy theme, as often queer people are seen as sinners who cannot be rescued from sin. To call your lover "your salvation" or "the cure that reedemed you" (another possible interpretation of the lyric) is like saying "your love is enough to absolve me from sin". Since the providence of the universe decided we were made for each other, to love one another must be okay.

Providence (섭리) is another spiritual/religious term that appears in the song, which reinforces the idea that 'salvation' was used in the same context.

The concept of love being a form of salvation can also be found in Pied Piper, "I came to save you, I came to ruin you." (funny coincidence with a famous line with the lesbian movie The Handmaiden, 'my savior who came to ruin me').

My interpretation

Serendipity is a beautiful song about the birth of romantic feelings between two people. It's so tender, you can almost feel the butterflies in his stomach as he confeses his love, asking his loved one to love him back. It's quite naive on the surface, but I think it also captures the feelings of a person experiencing their first love with someone of the same gender.

It is terrifying to love someone you're not supposed to see that way. It feels like jumping into the deep end, it feels like a sin. But the speaker is not afraid. Love is such a beautiful, pure feeling, that he believes there is nothing wrong with it. If he has fallen for this person, then it must've been decided by a higher being, or fate. And if you are fated to be with someone, how can that be wrong? How could that be a sin?

He's asking this other person not to be afraid of what the world has to say. This isn't a dream, just hold my hand and be mine (let's become 'us', let's be together). We are afraid, but we love each other, so we'll be okay.

13 years together